


Can You Keep It Down?

by camichats



Category: Chilling Adventures of Sabrina (TV 2018)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Neighbors, Alternate Universe - Non-Magical, F/M, Flirting, Getting Together, Trans Sabrina Spellman
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-06
Updated: 2021-03-06
Packaged: 2021-03-19 05:00:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,109
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29869506
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/camichats/pseuds/camichats
Summary: Sabrina's new neighbor has a very active sex life. She wouldn't care except for the part where their bedrooms share a wall and his partners are always loud. When she finally goes over to complain, the last thing she expects is for him to flirt with her.
Relationships: Caliban (Chilling Adventures of Sabrina)/Sabrina Spellman
Kudos: 19





	Can You Keep It Down?

**Author's Note:**

> There are mentions of transphobia, but none takes place in this fic

Sabrina _hated_ her neighbor. She knew that maybe it was jumping the gun since she didn't know him very well, but he was loud. Not at all times and not in all things, but when he had sex? So. Fucking. Loud. And he had sex a _lot_. 

It wasn't him masturbating or being a jackass about the sex that he was having, either. She could hear his partners more than him. Pretty much every time it happened, she could only hear his partners. Not to mention that their rooms shared a wall, so sometimes, it wasn't so much the moaning and begging for more that kept her up, it was the constant banging of his bed into the wall. 

Of course, it was most of the time when the bed itself wasn't making any noise and she _still_ couldn't get any sleep. Her neighbor was generally pretty quiet himself, so when he talked, she couldn't make out the distinct words, only the low rumble of his voice; his bed partners weren't the same. They acted like there was fucking soundproofing so that she couldn't hear them scream. 

It sucked. 

It was bad enough that she wasn't having sex anymore given her current lack of a boyfriend, but she definitely didn't want to hear other people have it. And more than that, she didn't want to hear what was apparently the most mind-blowing sex of their lives. And to make it _even worse_ , he had a very active sex life. It wasn't every single night that he brought someone home, but it was five nights out of seven. She knew that part for a fact. She'd kept track after the first week that he'd moved in and it became clear that it was going to be a pattern. She had little x's on her calendar for every night that her neighbor got laid. Sabrina reminded herself that it was constant fury and not envy that had her keeping up the practice, even after three months. 

She had constant bags under her eyes. On the bright side, it gave her a ready-made excuse for when people tried to give her shit about wearing makeup, but that was pretty much the only silver lining. It took her longer to get to sleep every night because she never knew when she was going to be rudely awakened, and it took her longer to get ready in the morning since she was so tired. When she was tired, she moved slower, and it meant more time on makeup on top of everything else that she still had to get done for her morning routine. 

Sabrina had complained about it to her friends before, but she didn't want to make them listen to her complaints as often as she was thinking them. 

Theo and Robin were over for dinner when it happened. Music started playing next door, and Sabrina groaned. 

"What? What's wrong?" Theo asked. 

"I told you that my neighbor could be loud sometimes," she said, getting to her feet. 

"At least it's just music," Theo said, pairing it with a hopeful smile. 

"In his living room, it always starts with music, but that's not all it is." Sabrina took a breath, then pasted on a smile. "Sorry. Dessert, anyone? Aunt Hilda taught me how to make a chocolate torte, and I think it turned out pretty well." 

"I'd love to try some," Robin said, and Sabrina's smile turned more genuine in gratitude. 

Sabrina cut everyone a piece then sat back down with new forks. 

"This is great," Theo said, Robin echoed the compliment, and Sabrina thanked them. "You know, if you ever need to stay the night at ours, you can." 

"That's really nice of you to offer, but I should get used to it." 

"Hasn't this been going on for months? It doesn't really look like you've gotten used to it," Theo said. "If you say you're fine, then I'll believe you. You've just seemed really wrung out ever since your new neighbor moved in. And there's no harm in taking our couch the night before you have a meeting at work." 

When Sabrina continued to not look swayed, Robin said, "Have you tried talking to him about it? Maybe just, y'know, asking him to keep it down when he has someone over?" 

"That's not a bad idea," Theo agreed, and they both looked to her expectantly. 

"If you guys think it's worth it, I'll try to remember. I've thought about it before, but only while he's- you know, in the middle of something, so I haven't wanted to interrupt." 

"You might have to risk it," Robin said, though he looked a little uncomfortable with the suggestion. "If it keeps happening and you can never remember. You live here; you have to sleep sometime." 

Sabrina nodded. "That makes sense. I know that I should deal with it, but everything's gotten weird since I came out. Did you ever get used to it, Theo?" 

"Everyone that was already in my life got used to it pretty quickly, but new people? It's- to be honest, Sabrina, it's just something you have to deal with every time you meet someone new. When talking to your neighbor, just try to be nice, and hopefully he won't be an asshole about it." 

"If you're worried, I could stick around while you talk to him," Robin offered, because he was a giant sweetheart-- but a sweetheart that had big muscles that other people could be intimidated into good behaviour by. 

"Thanks, but I think I'll be fine. Remember Father Blackwood? I've dealt with worse. No matter how horrible this guy may or may not be about this, he can't be worse than Father Blackwood was." 

"True," Theo said with a grim smirk. 

* * *

Sabrina resolved herself to talk to him about it the next time that she knew he was home, whether it would be interrupting him or not. 

The opportunity presented itself the night after Theo and Robin had come over for dinner. Through their connecting wall, she heard laughter that turned into a moan. It was weird that she could tell his partners apart based on moans that she heard through the wall, but she could. Some of them made one-time appearances, and others were regulars in her neighbor's bed. This was a regular. A loud regular. A regular that liked to scream once they actually made it to the mattress. 

Sabrina wasn't going to let it get that far before asking them to keep it down. She needed to act fast if she was going to act, and Theo and Robin had already told her that they thought she should. Before coming out, she wouldn't have hesitated. She still wasn't one to hesitate, but she had to be much more mindful of how her coworkers perceived her now-- and that had transferred into the rest of her life, what little of it she had that didn't include her old friends. 

She didn't bother with putting on shoes or anything; she just walked out of her door and over to his and knocked. The noise was more muffled from out here, but since she knew what to listen for, she could hear it. When she knocked, it didn't stop. Didn't pause. She didn't know if they'd heard her and were ignoring it with the hopes that she'd go away, or if they hadn't heard her. 

She knocked again, louder. 

She didn't hear them start again, and a minute later, the door opened to one of the most gorgeous men she'd ever seen in real life. Harvey had been cute, and Nick had had a devilish attraction about him, but her neighbor looked like a golden angel that had dropped straight from a modeling runway. He had his shirt off, so between that and his face, she could see how he was able to keep pulling in partners. (The moans had long since answered her question for why they were loud and why he had a few repeat partners.) "Hi," Sabrina said, trying for a smile. It came out too tight to be friendly because she was tired and just wanted to get this over with. "I'm your next door neighbor." She pointed in the proper direction even though it wasn't strictly necessary-- on the other side of his apartment was air. 

"I know," he said with a lazy smirk, leaning against the doorframe. "I've lived here long enough to see you around. What's up?" 

"Right, um. I was hoping you could keep it down? Your partners have a habit of... being loud. I have a meeting tomorrow, and I'd like to get some sleep for once." 

"I didn't realize the walls were that thin. I don't think I've ever heard you before." 

Was he flirting with her? It kind of sounded like he was flirting with her. That couldn't be right though, because he had someone in his living room that he'd been getting it on with. She blinked at him. "Well there's never been anything for you to overhear, and I think our bedrooms are on the same wall, so you're kind of hard to ignore. I'm glad that you show people a good time, but can you ask them to be quiet about it?" 

He chuckled. "I'll make a note of it. I'm sorry to have ever disturbed your beauty sleep. Not that you much need it," he said with a wink. 

"Okay," Sabrina said, bewildered. "Thank you." She went back to her own door. When she opened it, her neighbor was still standing there, watching her with a smirk. He nodded at her, then she stepped inside her apartment and couldn't see him anymore. 

That had been weird. 

She was worried that he'd just been appeasing her and that nothing would change, but she wasn't forced to listen to someone's cries of passion for the rest of the night. She caught a few noises here and there, but it was nothing that would've woken her up. She crawled into bed happily. 

* * *

Someone knocked on Sabrina's door, and she frowned. People didn't just drop by on her now that she had her own apartment. She didn't have plans with her aunts or any of her friends, and she hadn't ordered anything online. She checked through the peephole and saw her neighbor-- the hot one that used to have loud sex practically ever night until she complained. Now that she didn’t hate him, she should probably learn his name. 

She opened the door. "Can I help you?" 

"Hey there neighbor. Got a cup of sugar?" 

Sabrina blinked at him. "You're joking, right?" 

"Not at all," he said, confident smirk still on his face. It made her want to kiss him. Or shove him out. She hadn't decided which. "I'm making cupcakes for a friend's birthday, got halfway through the recipe and realized I'm three quarters of a cup short. So?" 

" _You_ eat cupcakes?" Sabrina asked doubtfully. He'd answered his door shirtless when she'd gone to complain, and even though he was more dressed this time, his shirt was unbuttoned low enough that she could see his stomach-- which, who did that? 

"Only on special occasions. As I said, a friend's birthday." 

Was this really happening? "Uh, sure," she said, since she did have sugar that she didn't need right now. She turned and headed for the kitchen, leaving the door open so he could either wait for her to get back or come in. She heard the door shut once she was in the kitchen, so evidently he'd elected to come in. She opened the cupboard and got out a container she could put the sugar in, because like hell was she going to let him walk out with the measuring cup Aunt Hilda had gotten for her. She opened the pantry and grabbed the sugar, pouring a few scoops into the empty container. 

"Did you draw this?" he asked. 

Sabrina looked over and saw him inspecting the drawing Harvey had done of her back in high school-- it had won the art show. "No, my friend Harvey did." It was pretty impossible to tell that it was a drawing of her since it was just of her legs. They'd been dating at the time, and while she hadn't realized she was a girl yet, it had been her first time wearing a skirt. He'd wanted to make her feel better about how she looked, so he'd drawn her. 

"Friend? Or boyfriend?" he asked, turning to look at her. 

"Friend." Sabrina put the lid on the container and walked over to him. 

"Are you dating anyone?" 

"No." She handed the sugar over to him. 

He took it and took slow steps towards the door, still facing her. "So, since you're unattached, maybe I could interest you in a date?" 

"I don't think I'm your type." 

"Clearly you are, since I'm asking." 

And this is why she didn't socialize with people. If people didn't know she was trans right away, it meant that she had to tell them and then help them bow out without making a complete fool of themselves-- which they always did, but there was no harm in helping them pretend. "I've never heard you with a man." 

"So? You're not a man." 

"I used to be. Like I said, I don't think I'm your type. Try to remember to give me back that container." 

"Is that really supposed to scare me away?" he asked, looking as at-ease as he always had. 

"Even if you're still interested, I don't do flings. I only do committed relationships, which I know aren't your thing." 

"I can change; I'm flexible." 

"I'd believe that when I see it," Sabrina said. "I hope your cupcakes turn out." 

He turned and grabbed the handle and opened the door, but he turned back to face her before leaving. "Can I get your name, at least?" 

"Sabrina." 

"Caliban. Thanks for the sugar, Sabrina," he said with a wink. 

* * *

Caliban returned her container the next day-- clean-- and brought one of the finished cupcakes as thanks. He flirted, she said it wasn't going to happen, and he left. 

She sort of thought that it would end there, but he kept dropping by to visit, and she found herself doing the same. Sharing ingredients, desserts (in her case), smoothies (in his case), and the occasional story from their work that day became commonplace-- to the point where she expected it. He hadn't asked her out again, and she didn't know if that was a lack of interest on his part, or if he was just respecting her initial rejection. 

It meant that when someone knocked on her door, she assumed it was Caliban and was surprised when it was Roz. "Roz? What're you- oh," she slapped her forehead, "duh, girls' night." 

"Girls' night!" Roz echoed with a grin. 

They had a girls' night every Friday on three day weekends to get some quality time together, as well as give Harvey time to paint all night long without interruption-- an interruption that was mostly his girlfriend reminding him that he needed a regular sleep schedule if he wanted to keep his productivity over the weekend the same as the rest of the week. 

"Come on in," Sabrina said, stepping aside to let her in. 

"I brought the essentials," Roz said. She closed the door behind her. "Facemasks, a roll of store-bought cookie dough, and the newest Margot Robbie movie." 

"Isn't that Birds of Prey?" 

"Yeah, so?" 

"I kinda thought you were going to say a rom-com." 

"Okay, that's fair, but Birds of Prey is a whole bunch of women being awesome and kicking ass, so I think we can make an exception this time." 

"I will agree to this, but only if you let me make brownies as well." Normally, they agreed to only one sweet since Roz liked to do triathlons and half-marathons. 

"Deal," Roz said immediately. 

"Great," Sabrina grinned. "You put in the movie and I'll get started on the brownies?" 

"Will you do the ones with the chocolate chunks?" 

"Sure." 

"Yes!" Roz said, pumping her fist in the air victoriously. 

Sabrina laughed, and for a while, she forgot about Caliban and how she'd expected to see him tonight. 

Roz had peeled the wrapping away from the tube of cookie dough and took a bite. "So, I've heard you're dating your next door neighbor?" 

"What? Where did you hear that? And- no, we're not dating. We chat sometimes, that's it." 

"Prudence told me." 

"Prudence," Sabrina groaned. Of course it was her. Sometimes, Sabrina could swear she was a mind reader with the amount of gossip she knew about everyone. 

"So you're not dating?" 

"No. Definitely not." 

"Why definitely not? Prudence said you two were getting along." 

"Getting along and dating aren't the same." 

Roz shrugged and took another bite of cookie dough. She chewed thoughtfully, swallowed, then said, "I'm just worried about you. You haven't dated anyone since Nick." 

"So? I've only had two boyfriends. It's not like I know how to find new partners." 

"I don't think you need any help _finding_ a new partner, Brina. He's right next door." 

"We're friends, that's all. And friends might be a bit of a stretch." Sabrina held out her hand, requesting the cookie dough, and Roz passed it over. "I admit, he seems... okay, but even if he were interested in me-- which he's not-- he's not exactly boyfriend material." 

"Why not?" 

"He's with a different person every night. And me? I had Harvey and Nick. Two steady boyfriends that I dated for years. I can't do the casual thing, and I don't want to." 

"You can go on a date without _dating_ the guy. Go on a date to get some free dinner and have fun! It doesn't need to be a year-long commitment and trying to mold him into the shape of a boyfriend." 

"I don't know..." Sabrina handed the cookie dough back to her, but Roz pushed it back towards her chest. 

"Hold onto that, because I'm about to drop some hard truth on you." 

Sabrina took a deep breath and turned to face her more fully. "Okay." 

"Harvey was your high school boyfriend. Nick was your college boyfriend. The next stage of boyfriend is either going to be the man you marry, or someone you weren't serious enough about. I'm not saying you should get into a relationship that you know will be a fling because-- like you said-- that's not you, but comparatively to the stage of life that you're in, it was a lot easier for you to find a serious boyfriend in the past than it is right now." 

Sabrina sighed, then took another bite of cookie dough; Roz had been right to make her keep it. "I thought I was going to marry Nick. Then I wouldn't have to deal with any of this." 

"I know," Roz said with a kind smile. She'd been right by Sabrina's side for the whole mess of an ending that relationship had had. 

"I'll _think_ about not being so picky, but I'll also remind you that no one's beating down my door to date me." 

As if on cue, someone knocked on the door. 

Roz paused the movie, and Sabrina got to her feet and shuffled to the door. She made the mistake of taking another bite of cookie dough before opening the door, which meant that her mouth was full when she saw Caliban standing there in nothing but sweatpants. "What's up?" she asked around the food. 

His eyes darted behind her, obviously catching sight of Roz in the living room. "I... was going to ask if you wanted to watch a movie tonight or something, but it seems you're already busy." 

Sabrina was about to say yes, she was busy, maybe a raincheck for tomorrow night or next Friday if he still wanted to, but Roz called, "You can join us!" 

She turned around to face Roz, swallowing quickly. "What happened to girls' night?" 

"He looked sad," Roz said with an unrepentant shrug. She looked towards Caliban. "So?" 

"I wouldn't want to interrupt," he said smoothly. 

Either Sabrina was imagining things, or she knew him better than she thought, because it sounded like he wanted to take Roz up on her offer. She swallowed again, even though she didn't have anymore food in her mouth. She turned back to face Caliban. "You can join us if you want, but I don't know how much you'll enjoy yourself." 

"I doubt very much that I could ever be bored by you," he said with a smirk. 

Sabrina rolled her eyes and waved him in. She thought about telling him to grab a shirt, but he lived right next door; if he wanted a shirt, he could get one without her reminding him. 

Roz raised a hand and gave a quick wave. "Hi, I'm Roz." 

"Caliban, nice to meet you. How long have you and Sabrina known each other?" 

"Oh, we go way back. We grew up in the same small town, so we've been friends since we could walk." 

Caliban's eyebrows raised in surprise. "Wow. I think the only person I've known for that long has been my father." 

"No siblings?" Sabrina asked, sitting back down. 

He shook his head and took the spot on the couch on Sabrina's other side. 

By the end of the night, Roz had fallen asleep on her half of the couch, and Sabrina decided to walk Caliban back to his apartment so they could finish their conversation without waking Roz up. 

"I can't believe you think the second Alien movie is better than the first one," Sabrina said, closing her apartment door. 

"I just think it has a better impact for the type of story they were trying to tell." 

She rolled her eyes, amused. "You're so full of shit." 

"Well, not about this, but in general, it's a possibility," he said, leaning against the doorframe to his apartment but not opening the door. 

Sabrina leaned into the wall on the other side of the door, arms crossed over her chest. "Do you disagree with me just to see what happens?" 

"Of course not, there are just many matters on which we happen to disagree." 

"Like the best Alien movie." 

"And whether bananas belong in smoothies or not." 

She snorted. "I get the feeling that we could argue all night." 

"We could," he agreed, then gestured towards his apartment in invitation. 

Sabrina looked at the door and thought about it. _Really_ thought about it. Talking to Roz about not being so serious about her relationships made her want to do it, but she also wasn't willing to jump into anything. Besides, she didn't even know if Caliban was still interested in her like that. "As entertaining as that would be, I don't want to fall asleep at your place and leave Roz all alone." She stood up straight and took the one and a half steps that separated them. She wrapped her arms around him, having to get on her tiptoes to keep hugging him when he straightened as well. 

He put an arm around her waist and hugged her back. 

Before pulling away, she pressed a kiss to his cheek. 

"Would you be horribly mad if I kissed you before saying goodnight?" he whispered. 

Sabrina had meant to leave it as a hug, but sure as hell hadn't been expecting for him to ask. She'd been operating under the assumption that they were friends and that Caliban flirted as easily as he breathed; she hadn't been expecting for him to be interested in her. She shook her head and tilted her face up towards his for a better angle. 

His mouth brushed against hers, as warm as his arm around her and twice as soft. 

As much as Sabrina liked serious, steady relationships, she didn't exactly go slow. A peck and then going back to her bed would be well and good, but she wanted to see what he tasted like-- and she thought that he'd let her. She surged against him, and he responded as easily as if he'd known what she'd do. 

"I um." She licked her lips and let go of him reluctantly. "I should be getting to sleep." 

Caliban nodded, then gave her another, lingering kiss. "Have dinner with me tomorrow night." 

"You sure you want to agree to that?" 

"I wouldn't have asked if I wasn't sure." 

"If you say so." She kissed him again, then peeled herself away-- if she didn't, she'd never leave. "See you tomorrow." 


End file.
